


the happiest ending is simply you and me, together

by philindas



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-09
Updated: 2017-12-09
Packaged: 2019-02-12 09:13:11
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12956055
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/philindas/pseuds/philindas
Summary: On a grimy, half-torn page is a photo of them- it’s a few years into their future, outside the new Avengers Academy, according to the caption. And it’s the caption that causes the breath to catch in Phil’s chest.Outside the Avengers Academy, SHIELD liaison Phil Coulson watches Tony Stark give speech with fellow SHIELD agent and wife Melinda May.





	the happiest ending is simply you and me, together

**Author's Note:**

> So Toni tweeted about it being a part of history that Phil and Melinda get married so Virgil and the gang would be expecting a married version of Philinda to appear, and thus this was born. Cheesy, fluffy, and over the top sappy. Enjoy!

Not long into their arrival and the subsequent discovery of who they were and where they were from, Melinda can’t help but notice the way Tess, in particular, studies her and Phil the most of the group. It’s almost enough to make Melinda feel self-conscious, and finally, the staring is just too much.

“Do you have a question, Tess?” she finally asks, and the girl blinks, caught off guard, before she swallows hard, and straightens her shoulders.

“It’s just- don’t married couples wear rings, in your time?” she asks, and Melinda frowns.

“Most of them do, yes,” she answers, confused. “How is that relevant?”

“In all of Virgil’s readings, you and Coulson- you’re married,” Tess tells her, and Melinda feels all the breath leave her lungs. She can’t look at Phil, frozen in place, but she feels him stiffen beside her, just as shocked as she is. “But neither of you are wearing rings and you don’t share a name, do you?”

“No,” Phil finally answers, clearing his throat. “We don’t.”

Almost unconsciously, their hands find each other, and when their fingers twine together, they both cling tightly.

“Can we- see Virgil’s notes?” Phil asks, and Tess nods- they can both feel the others’ eyes on their backs, but both are too focused on this new information; this new, impossible dream of a future.

The trip to Virgil’s bunk seems endless, but when they arrive, Tess directs them to a handful of old books and journals. Phil picks up the journal, and Melinda skims through what looks to be a weathered textbook. They’re silent, each flipping pages and reading- until Melinda turns the page and gasps at what she sees.

On a grimy, half-torn page is a photo of them- it’s a few years into their future, outside the new Avengers Academy, according to the caption. And it’s the caption that causes the breath to catch in Phil’s chest.

_Outside the Avengers Academy, SHIELD liaison Phil Coulson watches Tony Stark give speech with fellow SHIELD agent and wife Melinda May._

And _wife._

His eyes catch on the word and stay there, and his heart feels like it just might beat out of his chest. He squints a little at the picture, and even with the grim on the page, he can see the shine of matching rings on their fingers, folded in front of their bodies.

“Find what you needed?” Tess asks, perfectly innocent, and they both nod.

“Yeah. Thanks,” Phil says, before holding the book up. “Can we keep this?”

Tess shrugs.

“Virgil certainly won’t be needing it, so I don’t see why not,” she answers, and so Phil carefully tucks it into his back pocket. They follow Tess out, and Melinda sticks close to Phil- they slip off to the bunk that had been designated for their team, and together they sink down onto one of the beds.

“Married,” is the only word that comes out of Melinda’s mouth, and Phil’s chest grows warm.

“We get married,” he reiterates, and he listens to the way Melinda’s breath hitches, her fingers finding his. When they squeezes his, Phil gathers the courage to look up at her, and he’s struck by the wonder and warmth shimmering in her gaze.

“We get married,” she repeats softly, and her free hand comes up to stroke his cheek. Her lips curl into a smile, and his forehead falls to hers, noses brushing. “It was always going to be you and me, wasn’t it?”

“I hoped,” Phil confesses, and Melinda pulls back a little, stroking through the stubble on his face.

“I guess you do have game,” she teases, affection in her voice, and Phil chuckles- mutually, they lean in until their mouths meet, and Melinda sighs softly, sinking into him. His hand twined in her hair, holding her close, and Melinda grinned against his lips.

“At least now I never have to worry you’ll say no,” he says when they part, and Melinda shoves at him gently, rolling her eyes. Seriousness washes back over his face, and he lifts a hand to smooth his thumb over her eyebrow lightly. “I can’t wait to marry you someday, Melinda.”

Melinda touched his face once more, thumb brushing along his lower lip.

“There’s no one I’d rather wait for, Phil.”


End file.
